Haunted Skies: Vol. 1

As someone who has written extensively about the issue of UFO encounters in the British Isles, I know how incredibly difficult and time-consuming it can be to research - and write about - such an infinitely complex topic. And when that same research and writing also encompasses cases that date back decades, then the whole process becomes even more of a challenge.

And, this is one of the reasons why I take my hat off (metaphorically speaking!) to John Hanson and Dawn Holloway, who have done a superb job in chronicling the early years of British Ufology in their new book, Haunted Skies: The Encyclopedia of British UFOs, Volume 1, 1940-1959 (CFZ Press).

To say this is one of the most important of all books that address the history and nature of the UFO puzzle in Great Britain, is not an exaggeration. Not only have the authors uncovered an incredible amount of new data and hitherto unknown incidents, but they have also been able to shed a great deal of very welcome new light on old cases - cases that many researchers, I am sure, assumed had reached a point beyond which they could be taken no further. Well, those same researchers are dead wrong.

John and Dawn have done not just a great service to British Ufology, but to worldwide Ufology, too. With a foreword from Timothy Good, Haunted Skies is a book that will astonish you with the sheer wealth of fascinating and - in many cases - never-before-seen data on truly startling UFO encounters.

Given the fact that this volume covers the period from 1940 to 1959, we are, of course, treated to an amazing body of reports from the Second World War. Needless to say, many students of Ufology will be aware of the fact that the 1940s saw the emergence of the Foo Fighter puzzle - and many have concluded that, as far as UFOs are concerned, the Foo Fighters were a solitary ufological phenomenon of that era. Not so.

I was very intrigued to learn that John and Dawn had uncovered copious amounts of data, cases and testimony relative to close encounters with structured, classic, flying saucer-style craft, other-worldly entities, and much more in this very same, war-torn period. That this section of Haunted Skies alone now requires us to majorly revise what we thought we knew about the UFO puzzle during the Second World War is not a matter of any doubt whatsoever.

And with the 1947 commencement of the era of the Flying Saucer, we get to learn a great deal about how the mystery impacted on, and manifested within, ye olde Blighty. Again, it's clear that Britain played a truly significant role in that legendary year of our lord, Kenneth Arnold.

Haunted Skies also treats us to an absolute treasure-trove of material relative to 1950s UFO sightings, landings, police reports, Adamski-style Contactee cases, British military and governmental interest in the phenomenon, and remarkable firsthand witness testimony concerning encounters with all-things incredible, saucer-shaped, and other-worldly.

And let's not forget Cynthia Appleton and her Venusian baby! This is one of those definitively weird tales of yesteryear that John and Dawn tackle in fine fashion, and which I found particularly intriguing. And you will, too!

For anyone and everyone interested in the UFO issue - and particularly so from a historical perspective - Volume 1 of Haunted Skies is a book that I cannot champion enough. Without doubt, it's one of the most significant UFO-related books of the last few decades - and that's not stretching things. It's an undeniable fact.

If Ufological history is your thing, Haunted Skies is indispensable.

And, as there are two more volumes to come from John and Dawn in this series, we're all in for further treats of the Ufological kind!

Big congratulations to John and Dawn for writing the book, and to Jon Downes and CFZ Press for publishing one of the finest UFO books I've read in a long, long time.

Silent Invasion: Bigfoot & UFOs

Stan Gordon is a well-known, long-term researcher, writer and authority on many things of a Fortean nature - as is clearly evidenced by his new book, Silent Invasion: The Pennsylvania UFO-Bigfoot Casebook.

Now, I know for sure that any book suggesting Bigfoot may somehow be inextricably linked with the UFO phenomenon - and vice-versa, of course! - is bound to raise hackles in certain quarters.

However, the fact of the matter is that there is surely not a Bigfoot researcher out there who has not been exposed to (at the very least) a few creature cases that absolutely reek of high-strangeness, and that place the hairy man-beasts into definitively Fortean - rather than zoological or cryptozoological - realms.

Whether those same Bigfoot researchers are willing to admit they have come across such cases - or are willing to give such reports some degree of credence - is a very different matter, however!

Fortunately, there are a number of researchers who recognize that as much as it would be preferable to place Bigfoot in a purely flesh-and-blood category, there is a significant body of data and testimony that points in a very different direction. And it's a direction that, to his credit, Stan Gordon does not shy away from. Indeed, Stan's new book is a first-class study of a truly weird wave of Bigfoot-UFO activity that swamped the good folk of Pennsylvania in the period from 1972 to 1974.

In many ways, reading Silent Invasion reminded me of John Keel's classic The Mothman Prophecies and Jon Downes' The Owlman and Others - as a result of the fact that it focuses on the in-depth research of a dedicated, investigative author who duly finds himself up to his neck in monstrous bizarreness, ufological weirdness, and downright Fortean menace!

Silent Invasion is a swirling cauldron filled with dark and ominous woods; glowing-eyed beast-men prowling the countryside by night; strange lights in the sky; UFO landings; neighborhoods gripped by terror and fear; and much, much more, too. And, it's thanks to Stan's research, as well as his in-depth files prepared back when all the dark drama was going on, that we're now able to appreciate the curious chaos and calamity that collectively hit the unsuspecting folk of Pennsylvania all those years ago.

But, that's not all: macabre Men in Black, paranormal activity, psychic possession, secret government interest in Bigfoot, and prophetic visions of a dark and foreboding future all come to the fore in a book that is guaranteed to make you think twice about the true nature of Bigfoot.

To his credit, Stan does not take the simplistic approach that Bigfoot is some sort of "pet of the aliens," as some might assume. Instead, he logically, forthrightly and with supportive data in-hand, makes it abundantly clear that - even if we don't have all the answers - addressing the Bigfoot controversy from a purely zoological perspective does not work - at all.

He notes the problematic lack of a body (even just one would be nice!), the meager evidence of Bigfoot's eating habits, and its uncanny ability to always avoid capture - not to mention that the beast appears to be nigh-on bullet-proof. And I do mean that literally! And Stan hammers home, time and again, that where Bigfoot turns up, so - very often - do a host of other Fortean favorites.

Something strange and diabolical was afoot in Pennsylvania between 1972 and 1974. Bigfoot, UFOs and a plethora of paranormal activity were all in evidence. Somewhere, somehow, there is a connection - even if it's one we're not fully able to understand, just yet. Until we do, however, Silent Invasion will provide you with much to think about, to muse upon, and to ponder. And it may just make you totally revise your views on North America's most famous ape-man.

A great, atmospheric and uncanny tale best devoured by a flickering candle as the witching-hour looms!

Paranormal America

Countless books have been written - by believers and skeptics alike - on such paranormal topics as UFOs, Bigfoot, lake-monsters, ghosts, demons, the Bermuda Triangle, ESP, tarot-cards, and astrology. And on quite a bit more, too!

The problem is that not only do the vast majority of those same books very often (albeit not necessarily deliberately) reflect the subconscious prejudices of their respective authors, but they tend to focus more so on the data, than they do on the witnesses to the respective phenomena and the personalities that investigate them.

In other words, what has long been sorely lacking in the domain of paranormal research is a definitive, unbiased, careful, agenda-free and expert study of the mysteries at issue - but with an emphasis on those individuals that take the plunge and dare to immerse themselves in those very same mysteries.

Thankfully, that situation has now been rectified by Christopher D. Bader, F. Carson Mencken, and Joseph O. Baker. Their recently-published title Paranormal America: Ghost Encounters, UFO Sightings, Bigfoot Hunts, and Other Curiosities in Religion and Culture, is a truly excellent treatment of its subject matter, and one that I deeply recommend to those fascinated by all-things paranormal.

And the three are well-qualified to write about, comment upon, and critique such issues: Bader is an Associate Professor of Sociology at Baylor University, Waco, Texas; Mencken is a Professor of Sociology at Baylor; and Baker is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at East Tennessee State University.

But, and here's the important point: this particular trio is not looking to force-feed you any specific theory, idea or notion with respect to Bigfoot, UFOs and all the rest of the high-strangeness that dominates the lives of so many. Rather, they are merely looking for answers - whatever they may ultimately prove to be. And there's none of that annoying, condescending, self-importance and self-congratulatory huffing and puffing that fills the pages of so many skeptical studies of the supernatural to be found in this book either.

It's clear from the outset that the authors are not seeking to demolish any notions that hairy man-beasts are roaming the woods, that aliens may really have crashed at Roswell, New Mexico all those years ago, that ET is abducting earthlings for bizarre reasons of a genetic nature, or that life-after death is a reality. But, they're not looking to do all they can to uphold such beliefs, either.

Instead, what they are doing is taking the refreshing approach of spending as much time as possible studying, and understanding, the witnesses to, and believers in, paranormal phenomena as they are examining the alleged phenomena. And, it is with respect to the witness - or participant - issue that Paranormal America really scores points and hits home.

As the book makes abundantly clear, paranormal research is filled with characters that range from the depressingly boring, to the overwhelmingly obsessed. And, in between, there are - for the most part - those that are open-minded, others who it could be argued are somewhat too open-minded, and many who are just fascinated by the notion that the world as we see it may not actually represent all there is to see.

To their credit, our Three Musketeers do not sit on their laurels as they seek to determine what on earth (or off it!) is afoot. No: they stake-out haunted locales, they hit the road in search of Bigfoot, and they track down key and integral players in the world of the paranormal.

Citing, time and again, thought-provoking statistical data on the nature of belief systems relative to certain, alleged supernatural anomalies said to be in our midst, Bader, Mencken, and Baker show that the field of paranormal research is not at all unlike that of mainstream religion: belief and faith in "something," without any hard evidence of its actual existence, is rampant.

That same paranormal belief, just like religion, on occasion, utterly transforms lives. And, in some cases, a belief in Bigfoot, UFOs and the rest of their motley ilk appears to offer some meaning to the existence of people for whom religion plays no real part.

But, it's crucial to note that while Paranormal America makes it very obvious that - in terms of how people incorporate such controversial issues into their lives - a belief in God (or a belief in a God, or countless Gods) and the way he/she/it/they impacts/impact on the lives of people is not that different to having a belief in Bigfoot, this does not mean that the many and varied phenomena under scrutiny are simply brain-borne fantasies of a definitively X-Files like "I want to believe" nature.

No: our authors are extremely (but not uncritically) open to the idea that certain paranormal phenomena may indeed be a reality, and that just maybe aliens really are flying around, that it's not a waste of time for grown-men to chase Bigfoot on weekends while their wives sit at home rolling their eyes, or that perhaps the dead really can return to either comfort us or scare the you-know-what out of us.

But this is all very much secondary to the undeniably fascinating story at the crux of Paranormal America: namely, the way in which the paranormal - as a medium, and even as an outright culture - has spread astonishingly far and wide across the United States, the means by which belief-systems flourish and mutate, the nature of our deep-seated desires for there to be more to life than just 80-years and then a never-ending "lights-out" scenario, how cultural background, class, geographic location, and even monetary income deeply impact on such beliefs, and how and why people accept, need and yearn for the existence of fantastic, amazing, and occasionally terrifying "things."

Paranormal America is a book that should fascinate anyone and everyone with a deep interest in its subject-matters. Whether you are a full-on believer in the world of the paranormal, a die-hard skeptic, an open-minded interested soul, a combination of all three, or something more, you will gain much satisfaction from digesting this fine, scholarly, and always-entertaining work.

And you'll find yourself exposed to those most fascinating and mysterious of all realms that have led to the ever-present fascination with, and belief-systems relative to, the paranormal: the strange depths and complexities of the human-mind.

Japanese Monsters: Yokai Reviewed

Richard Freeman's new book, The Great Yokai Encyclopedia: An A to Z of Japanese Monsters, is an appropriately Godzilla-sized book (it runs to 416 pages!) and is a definitive look at the strange creatures and beasts of Japan, both in times past and the present day. A wealth of dedication, hard work and diligent study has gone into making this book a triumphant tour de force on one of the most sadly overlooked aspects of cryptozoology, monster-hunting and strange creatures.

Collectively known as the Yokai, the monsters of Japan are largely unknown in the West. But by addressing the cultural background that gave rise to these legends, and then listing the creatures in detailed encyclopedic form, however, Richard Freeman has now firmly and decisively rectified that situation for one and all.

This is a truly magical title that demonstrates not only Freeman's love and appreciation of Japan's rich folklore, history and mythology of a monstrous nature, but that also reveals his profound knowledge of the subject, too - not to mention his patience in putting the mighty tome together in the first place! Freeman writes in an informative and entertaining style that ensures you'll keep turning the book's pages to learn what is coming next.

I recommend The Great Yokai Encyclopedia to anyone and everyone that wishes to learn more about the fantastic beasts, mythical monsters, unknown animals, and creepy critters of Japan. Winged monsters, dragons, man-beasts, water goblins and much more - they all feature within the packed pages of this book. Invest in a copy and you won't be disappointed!

True Giants

Countless books have been written about Bigfoot, the Yeti, the Yowie and the Yeren. A significant number of words have been written about the massive, presumed-extinct, ancient ape known as Gigantopithecus. And, more than a few of those words suggest that the many and varied unknown man-beasts that are said to roam amongst us are examples of surviving, relic populations of that very same Gigantopithecus.

But what if something else, something even more fantastic in its implications than the idea that Bigfoot is Gigantopithecus, is actually afoot? That's the scenario we are treated to in the new book from Mark A. Hall and Loren Coleman, True Giants: Is Gigantopithecus Still Alive?

This is a book that, if you're interested in Sasquatch and its hairy ilk, you'll definitely want to read. It may not, however, be the book you're anticipating or expecting. But, as I'll demonstrate, that's a very good thing.

The theory that Bigfoot, the Yeti, the Yowie (the list goes on) are indeed surviving pockets of Gigantopithecus is an attractive one. After all, at least some of the old stomping grounds of Gigantopithecus do broadly correspond to locales from where, today, we get reports of unknown, large apes. So, the theory does seem to make sense - at first glance.

The problem is that, for the most part, while Bigfoot and most of the rest of the hairy man-beasts among us are certainly big compared to the Human Race, they're not that big. Creatures of 7-, 8-, or maybe 9-feet in height are typically what we hear of from those who are fortunate enough to encounter such animals.

But, just occasionally, a rare, rogue case will come along where the witness is certain that the creature they saw is far larger - maybe, rather astonishingly, in the region of 12-to-15 feet in height.

I've heard people say words to the effect of: "Well, sometimes, we see humans reaching 7- or 8-feet, so why shouldn't there be a few over sized Bigfoot?" Fair enough, you might say. But, there's another explanation too: we may be looking at different animals, rather than simply enormous versions of just one type. And, maybe those rare and rogue cases are not so rare and rogue after all! Cue True Giants.

So that there can be no misunderstanding of where they are coming from, Hall and Coleman note their position carefully, and early on, in the book: "These True Giants are not 'Bigfoot,' despite some efforts to make simple comparisons with creatures such as the one seen in the famous Roger Patterson-Robert Gimlin motion film of a Neo-Giant in California in 1967...They are of a different genus of primate."

And it's with respect to this different genus of primate that we get to learn so much about the truly massive Gigantopithecus in the pages of True Giants. The reader is treated to an excellent account of how Gigantopithecus came to be discovered and classified; its place in both zoology and cryptozoology; how and why the assumption has been made that it, Bigfoot and the Yeti are one and the same; and most importantly, why that assumption suffers from some major flaws.

And as the authors detail extensively and authoritatively in their book: a significant number of worldwide cultures tell of huge giants that once lived among us - the 12-15-foot-tall entities, and maybe a few taller ones, too. They were a marauding, violent breed, with cannibalistic tendencies, but who also seemed possessed of a certain degree of intelligence that allowed them to fashion a degree of clothing, crude tools, weapons, homes and dens (very often in caves or underground) and perhaps even primitive rafts and boats.

Of course, much of this flies in the face of accepted wisdom that Gigantopithecus, the True Giant, was just a huge ape. The theory that it could have been something more - something much more - is a controversial one. But it's a theory that Hall and Coleman back up with a wealth of fascinating accounts from times past that encompass Asia, North America, Europe, South America and numerous other places, too. And, in doing so, the authors make a very good, thought-provoking case.

In fact, they are clear on the issue that dismissing Gigantopithecus as a gigantic ape is way off-track: "...the fossils that have been found for this particular giant primate have been attributed not to a giant man but, erroneously, to a giant ape...Some people have suggested that the fossils, known as Gigantopithecus, are gigantic men. We believe that view will one day be proven correct."

And it's with this viewpoint in mind that the pair provide us with some truly fascinating accounts that actually sit very well within just such a scenario. And it's a point of view that provoked a lot of graphic imagery as I was reading the book.

Indeed, one of the things that really hit home upon digesting True Giants is how much of our own history we appear to have lost and forgotten - or that we have simply chosen to relegate to the realm of fantasy. Priceless tales of times long-past when gigantic beast-men roamed the world, perhaps competing with us for food, water, and a place to call home, fill the pages of this book.

But, numerous cases from the last couple of centuries and even up to the present day suggest that these huge, lumbering beast-men have not gone the way of the Dodo, but may still be found deep in the ancient forests, and the hard-to-access, huge mountain peaks that continue to dominate the wilder parts of our world.

In conclusion,True Giants is a book that is as groundbreaking as it is thought-provoking and paradigm-challenging. Hall and Coleman detail a remarkable theory - and a rich history, too - that serves to explain the many and varied accounts of huge, hairy giants in our midst. In the process of doing so, they weave a complex and fascinating story of something gigantic, something definitively monstrous but equally definitively man-like too, and something that has lived alongside us for so long, carefully shaping and sculpting our legends and folklore as it does so.

And, it's very difficult to read True Giants and not come away with a deep sense of regret and loss, borne out of the probability that the full, fantastic history of these Goliath-like man-apes - and their ancient connections to, and interactions with, the Human Race - will likely never be known to us. However, unless or until we do learn more about not just the true nature of Gigantopithecus, but about our fog-shrouded history too, True Giants represents without doubt the best treatment we have thus far on this fascinating and engaging subject.

It's Alive!!!

Dr. Bob Curran's latest release, Man-Made Monsters: A Field Guide to Golems, Patchwork Soldiers, Homunculi, and Other Created Creatures, is a superb addition to the long-line of titles that Curran has written for New Page Books. And, as you'll immediately understand from it's title, this new one deals with creatures that have to thank (or even curse) us for their existence.

And a wide and varied bunch of beasts they are, too!

As you might guess, we get to learn much about Frankenstein's Monster. But, rather than just looking at Mary Shelley's famous creation in the world of fiction, Curran tells the truly fascinating story of how Mary Shelley may have been influenced by some real-life equivalents of Dr. Frankenstein himself.

Were they scientific visionaries, or definitive mad-professors, complete with the near-ubiquitous Eastern European accents? Well, maybe, they were a bit of both. But this chapter alone makes Man-Made Monsters well worth reading, as it delves into the shadowy and dangerous worlds of body-snatching, medical skulduggery, the mysterious Mr. Pass (you'll have to read the book to find out about that sinister character...) and much more. And, in many ways, Curran demonstrates that the truth of the matter may be even more horrific and Gothic than Shelley's novel itself!

Of course, in a book like this, much attention is given to such creations as the legendary Golem and Homunculi. Curran's study of the two most certainly does not disappoint, and he skilfully dissects and details the legends, tales and mythologies that surround both.

For me, the most entertaining and thought-provoking section of the book was that dealing with so-called "Warriors of Brass." If, having read those words, your mind is thinking "Robots," well you would be right! However, these are not the modern-day, human-like machines that have for so long dominated the genre of science-fiction.

No: here we are talking about secret science, ancient computers, and highly-advanced technologies that may have been in the hands of our long-gone ancestors. From such places as ancient Greece and China we learn tale-after-tale of created-machines that sound astonishingly like complex, modern-day robots built for entertainment, work, and even on the battlefield.

No, we're not talking about anything as near as sophisticated as The Terminator, but we are talking about constructions - fashioned by human hand - that strongly suggest in centuries-past there existed some definitively mechanical marvels that today, unfortunately, are utterly lost to the fog of time.

And, with sections on Tulpas and thought-forms, alchemy, ancient magic, and much more, Man-Made Monsters is an excellent study of its strange-yet-engaging subject-matter. Whether for you, a friend or family member, it will make a fine Christmas gift!

The Michigan Dogman

If you have followed the written output of Linda Godfrey and her work on werewolf-style entities seen in the United States, then you'll definitely want to grab a copy of her brand new book: The Michigan Dogman: Werewolves and Other Unknown Canines Across the U.S.A.

Linda has carved for herself a well-deserved reputation as the leading U.S.-based investigator, researcher and author - in a non-fiction setting - of data on such matters, as is evidenced by her previous titles, The Beast of Bray Road; Hunting the American Werewolf; and Werewolves.

And, The Michigan Dogman is a fine addition to Linda's previous titles. You might possibly wonder: what can be said about such matters that hasn't already been said in Linda's previous three books on werewolves, lycanthropy and more? Well, the answer is quite a lot!

One of the chief reasons why Dogman is such an important and captivating read is because we're treated to countless new cases, eye-witness reports, and incidents and testimony - from all across the United States, and the decades, too.

And this is a significant factor: whereas The Beast of Bray Road was very much a regional study of werewolves in one particular part of Wisconsin, Linda's new book skilfully demonstrates that, in reality, these things - whatever they may be - have been seen, and are still being seen, all across the United States. In other words, this is not a localized, regional phenomenon. Rather, there appears to be be something - or some thing - among us that has carefully avoided classification and capture for...well, who knows how long? But, it's also something that pops us just about here, there and everywhere, and appears to be somehow intimately connected with us - which I'll expand upon shortly.

The sheer range and variety of reports makes The Michigan Dogman essential reading for devotees of hairy, fanged werewolves. But, as interesting as the reports, are the notable similarities in the actions, characteristics and appearances of the creatures under scrutiny.

In other words, people from all across the United States - unconnected to, and unknown to, each other - are reporting sightings of what sound very much like the exact same creatures. Typically, they are large, hair-covered, possess muzzles and pointed ears, and have the ability to move on both two legs and four.

Indeed, the sheer number of reports that possess all of these particular aspects is astonishing. And unless hundreds of people are all banding together to hoax Linda - which I do not, for one moment, believe - then we have to address seriously the idea that there are creatures out there that look like the classic imagery of werewolves.

But, is that really what they are? Well, like all of Linda's books, she gets into some fascinating areas of research as she strives to answer that question, which some might assume is a simple one to answer, but I assure you it's most definitely not!

Linda, to her credit, does not shy away from controversy - and when it comes to the Michigan Dogman and its motley ilk, there's plenty of it! Without doubt the most important questions of all are: What are these creatures? Are they even flesh-and-blood, physical entities? Is something far stranger afoot? Are we looking at several phenomena that have been lumped together under one banner?

The curious thing about the Dogmen, as Linda carefully demonstrates, is that they seem to defy categorization. Aside from the fact that there is not - or certainly should not be - any sort of canine animal running around the United States that has the ability to walk, run and leap on two legs as effortlessly as it does on four, this is what the witnesses are reporting. And, even though such a scenario is controversial in the extreme, this still seems to place these creatures in a physical, flesh-and-blood, category - as does the fact that many witnesses have seen such beasts feeding on their prey near the sides of wood-shrouded roads late at night.

But, this is where it gets even more interesting. It's almost as if there are too many cases: it's clear from reading The Michigan Dogman that, on many occasions, the very fact that these creatures are seen goes beyond mere chance. It's almost like they want to be seen - or, perhaps, even need to be seen. Why? Well, we'll get to that soon.

In the same way that back in the 1950s so-called "aliens" were endlessly stumbled upon while they were taking "soil-samples," or how Bigfoot is so often seen crossing the road, so with the Dogmen there seems to be something stranger going on than mere, chance encounters - and we're the unwitting souls and the pawns in a bigger picture that we're not fully understanding, or perhaps not even capable of understanding, just yet.

Yes, the beasts Linda describes seem real - in the way we understand the term - but there is distinct high-strangeness attached to such reports, too, including the locations: bridges, crossroads, and so on. Of course, any student of folklore will be aware that such locations have, for centuries, been associated with sightings of fantastic beasts (such as my own personal obsession, the so-called "Man-Monkey" that haunts Bridge 39 on Britain's old Shropshire Union Canal). But, the majority of the witnesses are not students of folklore - and that's an important issue.

Plus, Linda cites a number of reports where these creatures have been seen near entrance and exit roads to highways - which is surely an upgrading of the old crossroads motif in such cases. As an aside, I'm rather reminded how, in centuries past in my home-country of England, ghostly black-dogs were seen faithfully patrolling old paths and tracks. Whereas, today, Britain's "Big Cats" are often reported seen wandering along railway tracks and on golf-courses. Indeed, as puzzling as it sounds, certain locales seem to attract exotic beasts - if they are beasts and not something weirder.

There are other locations that play a role in such cases, too: graveyards, ancient burial mounds, effigy sites and more. In fact, in reading Linda's Book, I was astonished to find how closely such reports mirror many, very similar, cases from the large Cannock Chase woods of England, near to where I grew up. Again, there appears to be a picture here, but we're seeing it through fogged eyes.

Then there are the attacks: you would imagine that if you were attacked by a six-to-seven-foot tall werewolf, you would sustain some pretty serious damage. After all, haven't we all gone to You Tube, once or twice, and searched "Bear attack" or "Lion attack" and seen the sheer damage that a large, powerful predator can inflict upon a dimwitted human being who thinks it's clever to try and shake hands with a 1,000 pound flesh-eating wild animal?

But, when it comes to the Dogmen, the attacks are always half-hearted - yes, there are a few torn shirts, and the very occasional scratch, but it's almost as if the attack is one of effect, one that is designed to provoke an emotional response in the witness, rather than to actually turn them into a tasty dinner.

So, where does Linda stand on all this? Well, to her credit, she doesn't try and force any particular theory down the throats of her readers. Rather, she astutely recognizes that while the Dogman phenomenon is very real, it's also an issue that is infinitely difficult to resolve. So, in the pages of The Michigan Dogman you will get to learn a great deal about whether or not a physical, wolf-like beast could exist, in stealth, in the U.S. and elsewhere.

You will, however, also learn a great deal about Tulpas - beasts of the mind that thrive on fear and high-states of emotion; about ancient, paranormal Guardian-like creatures - the equivalents of supernatural watch-dogs, perhaps conjured up centuries ago from who knows where, and that still roam the landscape to this very day; about skinwalkers and bearwalkers; about ley-lines and the associations these beasts have with water; and even about ancient, mighty wolves that may not be as extinct as many presume them to be.

If you're already acquainted with the work of Linda (and if you aren't, why not?), then The Michigan Dogman is a book that you'll definitely want to read. And, if you're new to the world of real-life werewolves and this book is your first taster of what it's all about, then you're in for a real treat too!

As a first-class book that offers both numerous cases of a definitively werewolf nature, as well as a variety of thought-provoking explanations to try and explain the phenomenon (or, maybe, phenomena is a better, and more accurate, term), The Michigan Dogman should have pride of place on the bookshelves of everyone interested in strange and unknown beasts, ancient legends, folklore and mythology. You'll find all that - and much more, too - inside its packed pages.